This Much
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: I love you...this much. Just a Jara oneshot...nothing special...okay, it is TOTALLY SOMETHING SPECIAL! Review? :D


**Just an idea that popped into my head. Enjoy some Jara-y fantastical-ness!**

* * *

"Thank you," Mara said to her boyfriend.

He gently draped her hair over her left shoulder and bent down, resting his chin on her right shoulder, gazing at the two of them in her vanity mirror.

"We look so good together." She stated.

"I know right? I've been trying to convince you that for a while now." He teased, kissing her cheek quickly.

"Oh, whatever; okay, you need to go get ready for school before we need to leave." She ordered, pushing him toward the door.

"Oh, but, Jaffray!" he whined.

"Oh, but, Clarke!" she mimicked. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his quickly. "I love you!"

And then the door was closed in his face and he was alone in the hallway.

* * *

_**10 Minutes Later**_

Jerome grinned. He threw his arm over her shoulders and tugged her into his side as they walked across the yard to the school building. Mara smiled, arm circling around his waist and he kissed her head.

"So, how have you been lately?" he asked, trying to spark up some conversation. He loved the silence that they had around each other—calm, peaceful, and comfortable—but he wanted to talk to her.

"Fine, thank you. What about you, how is your life?"

"Uninteresting without you, Sweetheart," he answered, pulling gently on a strand of black hair that hung nicely over her shoulders.

"I'm sure that's not true." She shook her head, hair swooshing and brown eyes sparkling with happiness at what he'd said.

"Oh, but it is, I promise you."

They fell silent and Mara breathed in his cologne, enjoying the intoxicating scent. She never found out what kind of cologne he used, and he refused to tell her, so she just let it go and allowed herself to think that was his natural scent.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he asked suddenly as they climbed the steps to the double doors of the school.

Mara blushed. "No."

"This much," he replied, spreading his arms wide until he couldn't stretch them anymore.

She giggled and shook her head. "You're so funny."

"But it's true!" he protested with a laugh.

"Come on, we're going to be late for History." She grinned, pulling him down the hallway.

* * *

_**Three seconds later**_

"What are you two laughing at?" Patricia frowned as Jerome and Mara jogged into the room.

"Oh, nothing," Jerome shook his head and left Mara's side so he could take his place next to Alfie at their desk in the back of the classroom.

"Did anyone else hear that Miss Denby was giving us a pop quiz today? I'm not the only one that heard that, right?" Eddie asked, looking around the room, seated on his desk, feet resting on his chair and Fabian sitting in the chair next to it.

The brunette looked up from the notebook he was writing in and shook his head. "No, Eddie, there's not going to be a pop quiz."

"Oh, good, I haven't been listening to any of the past lessons."

"But you do realize that there will eventually be a test, right, Eddie?" Mara chuckled, shuffling around in her bag as other students filed into the room.

"Oh, right…" he groaned.

"Alright, class, good morning! Isn't today a wonderful day for a pop quiz?" Miss Denby smiled, waving a stack of papers in her hand.

"I told you!" Eddie exclaimed as the class groaned.

"Good thing you haven't been paying attention, huh, Ed?" Joy smirked, back at him from the desk she shared with Patricia.

Eddie glared at her and took his test from the teacher as she weaved through the desks.

Jerome chuckled, shaking his head. He read over the multiple answer choices of the first question and then read over the question. His gut feeling told him that D was the best way to go and filled in the circle, but only half way. His pencil lead snapped. He lifted the point of the pencil to his face and stared at the end of the pencil that was now missing its lead. He took a deep breath. Sometimes, just merely breaking the lead of your pencil can put you in a bad mood. He stood and crossed to the front of the room so he could sharpen it.

As he turned away from the pencil sharpener, he nearly ran into the big globe on the table next to him. He looked over at his teacher and swallowed. She kept her eyes trained on the papers she was hovering over and he rolled his blue eyes at himself. Then he smirked, looking over at Mara. He watched her and watched her, keeping his warm gaze on her until she tensed slightly, feeling his eyes on her. She looked up and mouthed a question to him.

_What's wrong?_

_I loved you, this much,_ he mouthed back, pointing down at the globe.

A blush once again spilt over her tanned cheeks and shook her head, accidently letting out a little giggle.

"Is there something funny about the test, Mara?" Miss Denby asked.

"No, Miss, Jerome's just making faces at me from the corner." She replied with a slight smirk.

The class's many leering eyes switched from the bookworm to the prankster and his eyes widened.

"Wha—Mara!" he cried, grin appearing on his face. It's not every day that Mara Jaffray tried to get you in trouble.

"Jerome, please take your seat." The teacher instructed.

"Yes, Miss." He nodded. He purposely took the long way to his desk so he could pinch Mara's side quickly as he passed her. She giggled again and Denby rolled her eyes in aggravation.

"Please, just focus on your tests."

* * *

_**1 Hour Later**_

Mara didn't feel like sitting and brushing up on her astronomy, she wanted to walk around, stay active. She was being a little antsy lately; she can't just sit in one place and stay there. So instead of her sitting and reading her astronomy book, Jerome was doing it. He flipped through the thick book aimlessly, reading over the past lessons and the highlighted sections. And of course, anyone could tell that that wasn't his book; that was his girlfriend's. She highlighted everything.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Alfie commented, watching Mara walk around the class room.

"Yeah, did you guys switch personalities?" Joy teased.

"No, I just didn't do my homework." Jerome replied absentmindedly.

"I don't feel like sitting right now." Mara said, eyes falling on a model of the solar system hanging from the ceiling, and she grinned. "Hey, Clarke,"

Jerome looked up at his girlfriend and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I love you, this much," she pointed at the solar system above her head, smiling sweetly.

"Aw, Mara, that's so sweet! But don't you think that Jerome should be saying those kinds of things to you?" Amber asked.

Jerome stared at the girl. He grinned. She had just purposely turned it into a game, and she was now in the lead. "Okay, how can I top that, Jaffray?"

"I don't know, figure it out." she retorted.

He looked around the room, ignoring his friends' glares, silently asking him to answer their wonderings. And just as he thought, there was nothing that could top it. He didn't know how he could, but he was not going to lose this game.

* * *

_**4 Years Later**_

Mara was proud of herself. She had just nailed a job as a reporter at the newspaper that both Eddie and Joy work at. They were all working in the same department and Mara couldn't wait to start, but that wasn't until next week, at that moment, she was going to go to her apartment, sit on the couch with some ice cream and watch some cartoons in her sweats.

"Hey, beautiful," Jerome smiled, pecking the top of her head as he walked into the apartment right after her. "Did you get the job?"

"Yes, I did." Mara said proudly.

"Congratulations, darling," he grinned, kissing the top of her head and wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a quick hug.

"How was the shoot?" she asked as she shuffled around in the freezer for some ice cream.

"Fine, they hired a new photographer and it isn't going too well. He turned out to be Willow Jenks' step-brother, and he apparently has a grudge against me for breaking her heart when I chose you over her in high school."

"Why doesn't he just quit, or the shoot can fire him?"

"He needs the money and we were the first to hire him; and we can't find anyone else to be the photographer."

"Oh, so, what has he been doing?"

"Very loudly, asking me why I don't love Willow." He replied with a roll of his blue eyes, they still sparkled brightly, just like they did in high school. His hair was still dirty-blonde and styled perfectly. He stilled dressed impeccably. He wore a white button down shirt with grey dress pants. He wasn't wearing a tie, so he must have taken it off since Mara distinctly remembered him leaving the apartment with one.

"So why don't you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Because I love you." he replied.

She smiled and turned away from him to get a bowl for her ice cream. When she looked back at him, she gasped.

"I love you this much, Mara Jaffray," he said looking up at her from his place, kneeling in front of her. He was holding a perfect, silver engagement ring with a small diamond, just the right size for Mara, placed in a dark blue, velvet ring case. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh my, gosh, yes!" she choked out, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jerome grinned and stood up, lifting her onto the counter, slipping the ring onto her slim finger, before crashing his lips onto hers.

* * *

_**1 Year Later**_

"Jerome?" Mara sang, skipping through the house in search for her husband.

She found him in the common room, flipping aimlessly through the TV channels. Mara grinned and took the remote from him and switching the TV off. Before he could protest, she plopped down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed back happily, though very surprised by her sudden display of affection, but he wasn't going to question it. She pulled away a few minutes later and kissed his cheek, trailing down to his neck, breathing in his cologne, the aroma causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach.

Jerome almost laughed. It was like their roles in their relationship had been reversed and she was suddenly the bold, romantic one. "Alright, what's up, Clarke?"

"I love you," she murmured against his skin.

"I love you, too." he replied.

"I love you more."

"Are you sure about that?" he challenged as she ran her fingers though his blonde hairs and breathed slowly in his ear, causing him to shudder slightly. Sometimes, he just couldn't believe that a girl had that kind of power over him. But then again, Mara Clarke was no ordinary girl.

"Yep,"

"Prove it."

"I love you, this much." She whispered, sliding his hands away from her waist to her stomach.

"Are you serious?" Jerome said softly, staring at her stomach for a few moments before his blue eyes flitted up to her brown eyes, which sparkled happily.

She nodded and leaned back into him and he returned the love she poured into that kiss.

* * *

_**9 Months Later**_

Amber paced outside the hospital room. She could hear screams coming from the room and she swallowed. She was going to have to go through that in a few months. She didn't want to, but she was focusing more on Mara at that moment. "Ohmigosh! I hope Mara will be okay!"

"Calm down, Amber, she's a doctor, she said so herself, she'll be fine." Patricia groaned, leaning on Eddie tiredly.

"She's not a doctor."

"She could be a doctor!"

"Yeah, there's no reason why she can't have a happy, healthy baby." Eddie said, eyes shut, nearly dosing off.

It was two o'clock in the morning. Everyone was tired, but they wanted to be there for their friends. Within the last nine months, Patricia and Eddie had gotten married, Amber had gotten pregnant, Nina and Fabian's daughter had turned a year old, and Joy had gone through three boyfriends.

The hallway was lined with blue, plastic chairs on both sides. Mara's family and Jerome's father and sister were on one side, while their old schoolmates were on the other side.

Amber looked at the door again and everyone else did the same. The screams had ceased. The door opened and everyone stood up with eager and hopeful expressions. The doctor smiled softly at them.

"Jerome and Mara would like to be alone for a moment, but they'll let you know when you can come in." she announced to them.

"Is everything okay though?" Joy asked.

"Everything is perfect." She replied and made her way to the desk behind her to talk to the receptionist.

They all let out sighs of relief.

* * *

Mara bit her lip and traced the side of her daughter's tan face. She couldn't believe she was a mother. She was amazed at the thought. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She and Jerome had done it. They had a family. They had talked about this since high school. And it seemed so easy, but then it happened and Mara couldn't believe it. She was possibly the happiest she's ever been in her life at that moment.

Jerome licked his lips and smiled, watching his wife stare down at their daughter in awe and love, tears gathering in her brown eyes. He brushed some of her black hair out of her eyes, placing a kiss on her temple.

"Jerome…" she whispered. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off the baby.

"I know, Mara." he said softly, massaging her neck and shoulders gently.

"Here, sit down," she instructed and scooted over so he could sit next to her in the hospital bed. "Hold her."

Jerome let her place the baby in his arms carefully. Mara leaned against his side, head resting on his shoulder as she watched the infant's brown eyes flutter open.

"Mara, I love you this much." He said quietly, worried that he'd upset the baby in his arms if he spoke to loudly.

"Hey, that's not fair. I already did that one. It doesn't count." Mara giggled, pulling away from him.

"No, no, see, you got pregnant, but I gave you that privilege. You can't have a baby without me, darling."

"Oh, really, I can prove to you that I can, if you want me to—" she said teasingly.

"Okay, I really don't want to continue with this conversation. But let me explain what I meant. I love you so much; I'll stay by your side forever, even more so because of this little beauty right here. She's going to look just like you." Jerome stated and handed her their daughter, sliding off the bed, and marching over to the room's door. "Ready?"

"Yeah, but only the house to start." Mara replied, rocking the baby.

Soon the white room was filled with the ex-Anubis House residents and they all awed at the baby.

"Guys, meet Madalyn Grace, the newest member of the Clarke Clan." Mara grinned happily.

* * *

_**10 Years Later**_

Mara skipped down the steps, black hair bouncing behind her, brown eyes sparkling, and frilly orange blouse shimmering around her small baby-belly. She peeked into the kitchen, finding Jerome shuffling through the refrigerator.

"Hey, J," she smiled.

"Hey, M, how's my favorite woman doing this fine morning?" he asked, leaving the fridge and wrapping his arms around her small waist.

"Marvelous, how's my favorite man?"

"Phenomenal,"

"Where is he anyway?" she smirked, looking over her husband's shoulder.

Jerome pursed his lips and shook his head with a silent chuckle. "Funny,"

"I know right?" she grinned.

"Hey, mum," piped a voice.

Mara pushed away from Jerome and spun around to grin at her 8-year-old son, Lukas. His hair was blonde and shaggy, and his eyes were a bright blue, just like his father's. She tapped his nose and he smiled, restraining himself from rolling his eyes. She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a stack of paper plates.

"Who wants some s'mores?"

"Me!" Jerome and Lukas cried together.

Mara grinned at them happily. They were different ages and different heights, but they were so much alike, neither of them would ever completely mature. She loved the two of them to bits, though. They were her men, and she wouldn't trade them for the world.

"Jerome, could you go get your daughters so they could have s'mores as well, please?"

"But that means there'll be less for us." Lukas whined. Jerome nodded with his son in agreement, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly and jutting out his bottom lip in a pout. After a second, he chuckled, kissing his wife's cheek and heading upstairs to complete her request.

"Madalyn, Jasmine, do you two want some s'mores, my beautiful darlings?" he asked, poking his head into Madalyn's room.

"Yeah," Jasmine, the adorable 3-year-old, cheered. She shot up from the floor, where she and her older sister were coloring, and ran to her father, hugging his leg tightly. Her short black hair covered her face and Jerome smirked, brushing it out of her grey-blue eyes, and lifting her onto his hip.

"Do you even need to ask?" Madalyn chuckled. She was 10-years-old, and she looked just like her mother when she was that age. Her hair was just longer than her mother's, black, slightly crimped, glossy and soft, hanging over her shoulders perfectly. Her brown eyes danced with mischievousness, all the children of Jerome and Mara Clarke had the same glint, ever since they were born.

Jerome tugged on Madalyn's hair playfully and led his girls down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lukas was bouncing in his seat at the table impatiently, eyeing the s'mores on the table greedily.

"Alright, dig in," Mara sighed, amused look on her tan face.

The kids reached forward and each took a s'more from the plate, immediately taking a bite, the gooey and delicious chocolate and marshmallow taste exploding in their mouths.

Jerome and Mara watched on the sidelines, grinning at their messiness. And after a moment of silence between the two of them, they both broke it.

"I love you this much." They stated together.

Jerome looked down at the small woman and her head whipped to peer up at him through her long lashes.

Jerome chuckled. "Looks like we're even, after all these years, we tied."

"It doesn't matter. We don't need to prove how much we love each other anymore, we've already done It." she told him, smiling at their children. "Thank you for giving me such a wonderful life. It's perfect."

"I just wanted to show you how much I love you." he said teasingly, kissing her neck lovingly, hands gripping her waist.

"Oh, hush," she rolled her eyes and pulled him to the table to join the kids, who had eaten a majority of the s'mores already. "Come on, have a s'more."

Jerome picked a s'more from the plate. Mara was right, just like she always is. They didn't need to prove the love they had, it was all around them. It was kind of hard to miss.

* * *

**Wow. How'd you like that? **

**I just met you, and this is crazy, if you liked this story, then review it maybe****(I ****do not listen to CRJ. I just thought of the stupid song).**

**_Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. -Deuteronomy 31:6_**

**-Rachel**


End file.
